Improvement in spring air-pistols



NI'IED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY M. QUAGKENBUSH, OF HERKIMERINEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT lN SPRING AIR-PISTOLS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 178,327, dated June 6, 1876 application filed March 4, 1876. I

To altwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY M. QUAOKEN- BUSH, of Herkimer, Herkimer county, New York, have invented certain Improvements in Air-Pistols, of which thefollowing is a specification These improvements relate to a class of airpistols in which a spring-impelled plunger, traversing a cylinder whose outlet is the barrel, expels from such cylinder the air in advance of the plunger, and sothat the air, rapidly driven forward through the barrel, inter-- c'epts, and expels from the latter the projectile,

- which has been previouslyinserted.

My present improvements relate, first, to means for enabling the plunger to be retracted and cocked, and the spring contracted, with much less labor and annoyance than have herethe plunger is cocked or set.

My improvements relate, secondly, to means for enabling the projectile to be readily inserted in the breech end of the barrel, to effect which I create in or near the rear end of the barrel an orifice, through which the projectile may be introduced into the bore of the latter,

. such orifice, when the barrel is in firing position, being closed, and concealed by the tubular extension before named, while a crosschannel or opening in such extension exposes the orifice, and aiiords an opportunity to insert the projectile.

My improvements relate, thirdly, to a compound trigger, of peculiar construction, whereby the power of its hold upon-the plunger is varied, and, consequently, the degree of pull upon the trigger is diminished or increased.

The drawings accompanying this specification represent, in Figure 1, a longitudinal section in Fig. 2, a plan of breech-loadin g mechanism, and in Fig 3 a cross-section of an airpistol embodying my improvements.

In such drawings, A represents the body of the pistol, composed of a straight cylinder,

B, of uniform bore, which constitutes the air magazine or reservoir, and a suitable handle, 0, the rear end of the air-magazine being open to admit entrance of air as the plunger is driven forward, and thus avoid tendency to a vacuum in rear of the latter.

The plunger is shown at D as playing to and fro of the forward part of the air-magazine, and fitting closely therein, while in rear of such plunger is disposed a coiled ribbonspring, E, whose stress is exerted between the plunger and the rear end or cap of the magazine. v

The trigger of.this pistol, as before stated,

is a compound one, and is composed of a a latch, a, pivoted at its front end to the under side of the cylinder B, and playing within a slot, b, in the latter, while the other portion of the trigger is the ordinary finger-lever c,

.and is pivoted at its upper part within the slot or recess 1), in rear of the latch a, and engaging the latter in such manner that when pulled it shall depress the free end of the said latch and release the plunger.

The method herein shown of swiveling the trigger-lever c to the latch a consists in the employment of a screw, (1, which is screwed,

into the free end of the latch a, and so that its head 0 intercepts the nose fof the triggerlever, while its inner end abuts against the bottom of the recess 12. By advancing or retracting the screw d, the distance to which the latch a protrudes into'the chamber B, and consequen tly the degree of its hold upon the plunger, is varied.

The forward end of the cylinder B is prolonged into a tubular extension, F, whose bore a is coincident-with that of the barrel,

but of much less diameter, and in such extenspondingly-shaped seat, 2, in which the eX- treme rear end of the bore a terminates.

H, in the accompanying drawings, represents an opening or orifice, created in the barrel G, of a length sufficient to admit of the introduction of a dart or other projectile into the bore of the barrel, the position of this opening H, with respect to the tubular extension F, being such that, when the barrel is in a firing position, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, such opening is covered by the outer end or head 70 of such extension, and escape of air thereby prevented.

In using this pistol the most convenient method of cooking or setting the plunger, and the one attended with the least expenditure of strength, is to seize the handle in the right hand,'and, placing the muzzle. of the barrel upon the floor, push the barrel and plunger inward until the latter has passed in rear of, and is intercepted and held by, the triggerlatch a. The barrel is now partially returned to its original position, or until its orifice H coincides with the passage g, before named, when the projectile is inserted within the bore of the barrel, and the latter pulled outward to its extreme limit, the orifice H being in the act closed by the head 70, and the tapering annular head or valve .Lh fitting tightly within the seat t'. The pistol is now loaded and cooked. A pull upon the trigger-lever 0 releases. the plunger, and the latter is driven suddenly forward by the stress of the spring E until it reaches the front end of the chamber B, in its passage forcing the air from such chamber forward through the barrel, and expelling the projectile from the latter.

I claim 1. The combination of the barrel, springimpelled plunger,.'and airunagazine, under such an arrangement that the barrel is susceptible of being pushed into the latter, and cooking or setting the plunger, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

2. The sliding barrel, formed with an orifice in its side, as described, in combination with the tubular barrel-support F, provided with a passage or opening, g, substantially as set forth.

3. The tapering annular head or valve h, upon the rear end of the barrel, in combination with the orifice or valve-seat i, substantially as herein shown, whereby escape and loss of air during the advance of the plunger is avoided, essentially as and for the purposes stated.

4. The compound trigger, herein shown and explained, consisting of the latch a, screw d, or its equivalent, and trigger-lever a, substantially as and for the purposes stated.

HENRY M. QUAOKENBUSH.

Witnesses:

W. M. SPIoER, M. S. BRUSH. 

